Chapter 52: Dream Classroom

Chapter 52: Dream Classroom

Danitz’s worry did not become reality. Klein merely glanced at him, then entered the bedroom to rest.

During the five hours aboard the passenger ship, his mind had remained highly tense. The night before, he had been disturbed and had not slept well. At this point, fatigue was inevitable.

With a clang, Klein shut the bedroom door.

Whew… That scared me to death! Danitz’s whole body relaxed at once, and he collapsed into the armchair.

Just now, scene after scene of himself turning into gold pounds had surfaced in his mind, impossible to stop.

After calming down for a while, Danitz, who had spent the night carousing in the bar before returning to the inn at dawn, unknowingly fell asleep again. He dreamed that the captain came to rescue him but failed, instead being captured by Gehrman Sparrow. This gave the mad adventurer a new maid.

Just as Danitz was indignant yet did not dare resist, and was about to wake up, he suddenly saw the blurry scene around him grow clear, freezing into the luxury suite of the Azure Wind Inn.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Danitz heard a series of slow, measured knocks.

Am I not dreaming? Holding that doubt, Danitz walked to the door and turned the handle.

The crack widened. He saw a familiar figure.

It was a beautiful lady, her face shaped like an oval, her nose bridge high, her lips rather thin, and her light-blue eyes like clear spring water.

Her long brown hair was parted down the center and tied behind her head in a simple but delicate knot before falling smoothly downward.

She wore no hat. Her waist was cinched by a beige jacket whose collar was decorated with a palm-sized flower of white lace that spread downward. Matching the jacket was a dark knee-length skirt with connected pleats, making it slightly puffy. On her feet were leather boots close in color to her hair.

“Captain!” Danitz cried out in surprise.

He immediately came back to himself, hurriedly turned around, and assumed a defensive posture facing Gehrman Sparrow’s bedroom.

“Careful! Run! There is a madman who wants to find you! He has a terrifying organization behind him!”

As his self-sacrificing spirit surged forth, Danitz heard his captain calmly say:

“This is a dream.”

A dream… Right. I am dreaming. What is there to be afraid of… Danitz looked left and right, then lowered his arms. Turning around and stepping backward, he said, “Captain, did you simulate the Nightmare ability? No, that cannot be. Last week, you were still near Sonia Island.”

Sonia Island was the largest island in this sea region and the origin of the name Sonia Sea. It was nearly equivalent to a small continent. Originally, after the Cataclysm, it had been the elves’ last remaining settlement. But as time passed, that ancient Beyonder race was troubled by all kinds of factors and gradually dwindled, leaving only occasional, scattered appearances to prove that they had not gone completely extinct.

At the end of the Fourth Epoch, the Kingdom of Loen occupied the island. But during the Twenty Years’ War, they suffered a miserable defeat and handed Sonia Island over to the Feysac Empire. More than seven hundred years had passed since then.

Sonia Island lay northwest by north of the Rorsted Archipelago. Traveling there by ship required close to half a month. Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards, who had still been near Sonia Island last week, could not possibly have reached Bayam this week unless she could fly or travel through the spirit world.

The beautiful lady whom Danitz called Captain nodded.

“We just entered the Rorsted waters. We are still one thousand nautical miles from Bayam.”

In other words, it will still take three or four days to arrive? That is normal… Danitz asked curiously, “This should already exceed Nightmare’s range, right?”

And by far… he added inwardly.

Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina entered the room and walked toward the table and chairs.

“It is not Nightmare. It is a secret ritual magic. Through certain objects of yours left aboard the ship, it enters your dream from very far away…”

Hearing his captain’s meticulous explanation, Danitz instantly felt as though he had returned to the Golden Dream and was beginning class again.

I had never heard of this ritual magic before… Well, that is normal. The captain has mastered many strange and rare types of magic and witchcraft. No one can figure out how much knowledge she truly possesses… I remember she once mentioned that her Sequence title is Mysticism Magister… Sigh. If I had known earlier that she had this kind of “mysticism art,” I would not have been so troubled about how to notify her of Bayam’s changes… Thoughts flashed through Danitz’s mind. He interrupted Edwina’s description.

“Captain, did you sense that something was wrong with the contact point here?”

“Yes. That is another mysticism art…” Edwina seemed inclined to explain the specific method in detail.

Seeing this, Danitz hurriedly sighed.

“Poor Old Lynn and the others…”

Edwina stopped walking. With her back to the window, she asked simply, “What happened?”

“This needs to start from Damir Harbor.” Danitz’s spirits lifted. He felt that the long period of oppression had finally received its reward at this moment.

He described, in extremely verbose language, how he had tried to recruit Gehrman Sparrow, only to discover that the other man was a madman. He exaggerated his miserable experiences aboard the White Agate.

Following the draft he had prepared the night before, he then recounted in full the strangeness and horror of Bansy Harbor; the ambush and siege by Steel Maviti; and the counterattack and hunt after he joined forces with Gehrman Sparrow. He also seriously explained his guesses regarding Gehrman Sparrow’s abilities and background, including Creeping Hunger and a hidden, powerful organization.

Throughout this process, he did his best to restore the truth, merely exaggerating his own role slightly, elevating his position from servant and attendant to assistant and collaborator.

Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina listened quietly the entire time without interrupting him. At the end, she gave a light nod.

“He bears no malice.”

He? Gehrman Sparrow bears no malice? Danitz hurriedly said, “Captain, no matter what, he is a dangerous fellow!

“Are you sure he bears no malice?”

“I am not sure,” Edwina answered very calmly.

“…Then what did you mean just now?” Danitz drew in a soundless breath, suddenly feeling that the captain was similar to Gehrman Sparrow: both belonged to the type one could not properly converse with.

Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina said with no change in expression, “That was my inference and judgment.”

“…” Danitz rubbed his forehead with his right hand. “In any case, he is very dangerous, and behind him is a secret organization whose situation is unknown. Captain, I think you should not take the risk of communicating with him, even if he claims he only has some matters to ask.”

Edwina thought for a moment and said, “No risk is necessary.

“I can communicate with him through you.”

Danitz first relaxed, then asked with both curiosity and anticipation, “Captain, how? Or rather, how should I cooperate?”

Edwina raised her right hand. In the dream, she materialized a stand and a blackboard.

“You need to perform a ritual.

“It is called a Spirit Descent Ritual. It can allow my spirit to pass through the spirit world and attach itself to your body, directly conversing with Gehrman Sparrow. Below demigod level, its effective distance does not exceed five hundred nautical miles…

“It involves reason and communication, belonging to the domain of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. You must draw the corresponding symbolic signs and magical labels…

“In mysticism, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom corresponds to the blue star. The materials required are mercury, brass, lavender, pepper, and mint…

“The blue star corresponds to Saturday. The blue-star hours include midnight to one on Friday, and eleven to noon on Saturday…”

As Edwina explained, she wrote the key points that needed memorization on the blackboard. Danitz instinctively sat down and assumed a posture of attentive learning.

As he listened, he suddenly grew a little lost.

Why do I have to study even in my dreams?

…

Inside the bedroom, Klein, who was sleeping, suddenly woke with a start, faintly sensing something.

He turned over and got out of bed, listened carefully for a moment, and discovered that although Danitz was snoring in the sitting room, it was much smoother than before.

This was not an especially strange sign, but for someone like Klein, a veteran of mysticism who had experienced many matters, it was abnormal enough.

He lightened his footsteps, arrived at the door dividing the bedroom from the sitting room, reached out, grasped the handle, and slowly turned it.

Soundlessly, Klein stepped out of the bedroom and saw Danitz lying in the armchair, sleeping soundly, while everything around him remained as normal as before.

Klein silently activated his spirit vision and examined Blazing, but found no problems. Whether in the colors of his aura or the changes of his emotions, nothing was abnormal beyond reason.

After looking down at him for a while, Klein frowned slightly and reached into his pocket, taking out a silver charm.

“Dream Charm!”

…

Within the dream, Danitz’s face was full of bitterness as he studied the Spirit Descent Ritual. He had not the slightest suspicion that the captain before him might be someone else in disguise.

This style, this hobby, this specialty—no one could pretend to be her!

At that moment, he heard the sound of a lock turning.

Subconsciously, Danitz looked back toward the bedroom and saw the crack of the door widening. Gehrman Sparrow, wearing only a white shirt on his upper body, walked out expressionlessly.

“You! Why did you come out!” Danitz abruptly stood, crying out in shock.

He quickly recovered and stammered, “Th-this is my dream!”

How did Gehrman Sparrow suddenly appear just like that!

Klein kept one hand in the pocket of his dark trousers. As he walked toward the woman with her back to the window, he answered in a low voice, “A charm.”

Then, looking straight at the lady, he asked in an almost certain tone, “Edwina Edwards?”

This style of dress is a little strange… It does not look like an adventurer’s outfit, much less a pirate’s. It is somewhat similar to the sort of clothing worn by women in respectable professions who support themselves independently… Similar styles seem to have spread from Intis… Klein thought with slight discomfort.

Edwina nodded lightly and asked in return, “Gehrman Sparrow?”

“Yes. Good afternoon, madam.” Klein gradually revealed a smile, pressed a hand to his chest, and gave a bow.

Edwina nodded in response.

“Good afternoon.”

Maintaining his persona, Klein no longer spoke. He waited for the other party to take the initiative and ask about his purpose.

…

He looked at Edwina.

…

Edwina looked at him.

…

Several full minutes of silence suddenly appeared inside the dream.

Danitz looked to the right, then to the left, and for some reason, felt that all of this might truly be only a dream.